6 months later....

July 24th, really? wow. SUPER blogger right here. 

Ok Life has been fun. and nuts. but mostly fun and awesome! I can't even begin to describe where my crazy little CrossFit life has travelled to. It has been fantastic training these last few months. I started following Invictus CrossFit and manage to do it 3-4 times a week with some supplemental random wods in between. I think I am getting stronger due to all the back squats, front squats, upside down and sideways squats...... you get the point! I learned to butterfly. I did a really horrible set of workouts in two days at an event called the Firebreather that totally trashed me! It was awesome. And I won some money doing it AND I got to do it with two of my favorite CrossFit girls, Sam and Lindsay. 

Im very sad because Lindsay and Ehren are going to be in Australia until April! :( Im so excited they get to travel around Australia and spend time with Ehren's fan (he's from there) but Im going to miss them and training with Lindsay. She has been such an incredible inspiration in my life and is so encouraging and a great example in my life. I did get one great thing out of them moving and his name is Charlie! A CAT! It took some serious convincing to get Bobby onboard but now he LOVES charlie! and Charlie loves him. and me. but mostly Bobby.

Ok so best news of all from these past few months is I got to attend the Level I cert a few weeks ago AND I'm now a trainer at a new CrossFit gym here in Boise, Expedition CrossFit! The owner is incredible and love his ideas! It is so fun opening a gym and getting new people in to try out CrossFit! I love that they keep coming back! Having the ability to train others and share my CrossFit experience and what I have learned from all of the amazing examples in my life is seriously amazing. Plus I get to work with some really great people, Aaron, Emily, Sam, Terry, and John! The CrossFit community in Boise is so strong and full of amazing people and athletes. REALLY looking forward to 2013! The gym, Expedition CrossFit was suppose to officially open on January 1st but we have had so any people want to start now we decided to get rolling now. I train my first official class on Saturday! 

Lots of Fun events coming up this winter! Boise CrossFit is hosting a WOD to raise for for the food bank. ECF is hosting an event to collect toys for the Marine Corp's Toys-4-Tots Program! The Christmas run is also coming up and my friends Jonathan and Maria are hosting an awesome Valentine's day run on February 9th! 

ECF action. Sam, Me, and Emily doing Diane! Got a 6 minute PR on this WOD. Did it in May and my time was over 10 minutes and did it this month and my time was 4:23!

Bobby went to a training camp in Cali this year at CrossFit Invictus! This is Camille Leblanc Bazinet (if you are a CrossFitter and have never heard of her you should probably google her) Brought back a whole bunch of great training tips! Bobby continues to make me a better CrossFitter and person everyday! He helps me be the best that I can be at both, helps me eat healthy, and is the best kind of support any girl could ask for! Love him :)

Pic from Barbells for Boobs this year! Was an awesome event! Raised over $10,000 and so many people were there for the event! Awesome to have so many people from the community in one place! 

Lift.Eat.Run.Floss.Repeat

My forearms have been dead since Fran. It wasn't even that many pull-ups! Last night I did an Invictus workout with the boys. We did 6 three position snatches from the ground, the hang, and the high hang @ 70lbs. They felt really good. I think hang snatches are a good way to get quick under the bar and they feel so solid when you land them. Then we did ring dips with a 2 second hold at the top and strict pull-ups. By the time I made it to the actual workout my arms were toast! The wod we did was:

Row 500m
50 kettlebell swings @ 53lbs
30 pullups (suppose to be chest to bar- yeah right!)
Row 500m (again!)
my time: 13:30

It was tough. I liked the kettlebell swings but 50 @ 53lbs was a lot for me. I literally couldn't even do one chest to bar pull-up so I did regular pull-ups. Bobby made me feel better when he said towards the end of the pull-ups he was doing one at a time. A great workout though!

I know you're getting sick of me saying this BUT Im gonna say it anyway! I AM SO STOKED FOR CANADA! There are a lot of fun things (besides the obvious-lululemon galore and the race!) like Fun. I mean the band FUN. giving a free concert after the race! WHATTT. Im so stoked. It will be a blast with the group of gals Im going with too! They are an amazing bunch of ladies! There is also going to be am and pm yoga on the beach! The race goes all the way around the island and through two bays. It really does look like an unreal course. Im sure my memory card will be filled to the brim with photos but the end.

Here is a little shot of Vancouver. We will be running on the water's edge where the green is most of the way I think.

Last week I managed to squeeze in 24 miles! Im planning running at least that much this week as well. Then starting to cut back next week. Jami M. and I ran a good 9 miles on Saturday and we took some yummy energy gummies with us that were organic and made with honey! They tasted good and didn't glue your mouth shut. I think Im going to grab a few for the race!

Fran.

So I knew at one point and time the WOD Fran would pop up. I know I know Im speaking CrossFit lingo right now. I apologize and I will explain myself soon. But if you are a crossfitter you know how un-fun this wod can be!

It is:
21-15-9
thrusters
pullups

for time.

It looks pretty simple BUT the CrossFit world has turned it into the WOD from hell. Basically do it as fast as you can and you do it like the rest of crossfit world. I went into it with a pretty bad attitude today. The last time I did it I spent more energy being pissed off then actually doing the WOD and have actually skipped the gym the last 2 times it has popped up. So today was the day. I started out super grumpy, it was like my body was resisting me. The only way I can describe it is like a donkey that has sat down in the middle of the road and wont budge no matter how hard you push or pull. Well. After Sam finished with a ridiculous PR and time of 3:13 (boomm!) She came over and started yelling at the donkey and it finally got off its ass and took off. Too bad it was for the round of 9! I broke up the 21 and 15 too much then did the round of 9 unbroken. Dumb! I was happy with my time- 5:23 and now I feel more driven to actually try and get my time under 5! My forearms felt god awful but I didnt dry heave like most peeps usually do and I didn't get the "Fran cough" so I think that means maybe I didnt push hard enough...???? ha! But Im stoked because I think I may be over my Fran phobia!

This past week has been incredible for running! I snuck in a 4 miler, 8 mile trail run, 3 miler, and a 9 mile run! I felt great on most of them and am feeling good for the half. Wednesday I did Hull's Gulch with Sam, Jeanette, Jax, and Red. It was just as hard as I always remembered but I love uphill. Crazy I know but when your booty is tough enough to take it, it is actually fun. The downhill gets me pretty much everytime though. SIDEACHES! I am going to up my agua intake this week so when we do Hull's again next week I may not get one again! It is frustrating to run 4 days a week and STILL manage to get a stitch in your side. WTF.

Saturday I paddleboarded the Boise river. It was so fun! I was super scared at first especially on the rapids. I feel like every rapid is like a class 5 on a paddleboard and people be batshit crazy if they DO take those boards on a giant river with real class 5's! I have absolutley no desire to take it on a river that moves any quicker than the Boise! hhahaha there was a few, no several, times that I fell and if you know me, you know they were probably the most graceful falls you've ever seen ;) On one of the big rapids there was a giant rock that I was suppose to avoid so naturally I paddled like a madman and my board still titanic-ed it's ass right towards it, and the fin caught stuck and my board stayed while I kept moving. BUT I didnt drop my paddle! It was super fun though and I definitely will be going a bunch more this summer! :)

july

So July hit and I suddenly realized how crappy Id been eating and how not serious I was taking the gym. The CrossFit Games were last weekend and me and Bobby were just short of nerding out (we spent only all day Sunday watching them) :) It is the most inspirational and motivating thing for a Crossfitter to watch. You know exactly how shitty it is to do WODs like Fran, Isabelle, and Elizabeth. You know how scary it is to go for a 1RM or run a ton of 400m's. I think thats the best part about the games for the spectators is most people there and watching at home can relate. It is scary to think, this is the reason why we all push and train. The CrossFit games are getting insane though, the competitors and the workouts each year get more and more impressive.

This last week I did mostly the main site workouts but I feel like they were all a good mix. I did "Linda" last wednesday, a whole hell of a lot of wall balls and toes to bar, and a few AMRAPS. It was a great week BUT not nearly as fun as how this week started out :)

Tonight I did weighted strict pull-ups(20#) in Jake's class and weighted pushups(55#). Then I did the Clean ladder from the games! It started at a lot lower weight but was super fun! I feel like it was awesome doing all of those cleans and working up to my 1 RM. I was super warmed up and managed to get a 10lb PR. I cleaned 155! :) Its been a long time coming I feel like and I am almost at my summer goal. I want to be able to clean and jerk 165 by September :)

The fun doesn't stop there. Linds and I did back squats too.
50% X5 -110
75% X3 -160
85% X1 -185
90% X1 -195
95%X1- 210
100%X1- 220 (PR)

I was super stoked to PR by 5lbs on this lift. I got 215 around March or so but I was unable to even squat 210 in April! So happy. Linds did an awesome job today as well on her clean and her back squats!

We finished up with a max set of back squats at 85% (haha I got 4) and 5X5 max set of handstand pushups (7-13-11-7-7)

Bobby and I are back to making all of our lunch and dinner for the week on Sundays :) Its so much more convenient then coming home at 8 or 9 o'clock from the gym and making food. Plus we made my favorite this week- chicken salad! Tonight I ate a brat and steak- I was like jesus. meat city. but I ate it all. I decided if Im going to do crossfit and be serious about it I can't really care if I like Shrek. My body has already changed so much and I think I just have to get use to it.

Only a few weeks until our half marathon! doing 8 in the foothills wednesday then I think 9 this weekend and 10 next! Cant wait its going to be Lululemon heaven AND the ladies Im going with aren't too shabby either ;)

Bar Muscle Ups and Paleo Pancakes

Today I made some pretty bomb Paleo banana pancakes. Did I attempt this yesterday and fail? yes. did I maybe cry a little when I couldn't figure out how to flip the sticky SOB's? maybe. but I was determined this morning when I saw the perfectly ripe bananas sitting on my counter. My secret? Bobbys ginormous grill spatula! It seriously is huge. and it flipped the shit out of those pancakes. I was a happy camper and made 5 paleo banana pancakes and used the organic real maple syrup Bobby bought yesterday on them!

They are super easy to mix(I did not say make, mix)

3 bananas
1/4 cup almond butter
 2 eggs

mix and pour in a pan with some coconut oil. Now when your flipping them you're going to need to have ninja stealth skills and a metal spatula. Flip them quickly and commit to it! Then ENJOY :)

I have been eating pretty strict paleo for real. Last month was a total frisking disaster in the diet category but I am ready to get serious about crossfit and your diet makes all the difference in the world! Sometimes ice cream and cupcakes are just not worth it......baahahaha said no one. ever. no really Im going to try ;)

Got to spend some time with Bobby this weekend finally. We had Saturday and Sunday off together and spent most of the time looking at stuff for our new place. Saturday night I needed a workout to do so I did tabata push ups and squats then Annie which is:

50-40-30-20-10
Double unders
situps
time- 8:07


I had a ridiculous PR on front squat today. I haven't front squat since LAST summer. My previous 1 RM was 145 and today I got 185! :) I cleaned 145lb and attempted 155 twice. Its okay though because my goal is to get 165 by September so I've got time :) I did Invictus tonight with Bobby, Jake, and Sun. The WOD was one of the games woods from next week.

3 rounds:

8 split snatches
7 bar muscle ups
400 m run

I did all of the bar muscle ups. My hands tore. It was pretty easy though other then that. Oh except it smelled like a dead ass when running. There is a fish market down the street from the gym and I feel like something went wrong there today because it has never smelled like that. My eyes and throat were stinging from the stench! Needless to say it smelled like dead ass.

Im feeling pretty good about the half marathon training! Did 7 last weekend and five this weekend. I need to do 8 here in the next few days or at least this weekend! Our ten miler is in two weeks :)

I am stoked for the rest of this year in the gym. Working with the boys has been super inspirational. No girl wants to look like a pansy in front of the boys (especially Sun, if you know him, you know what I mean) and the wods they have been doing are actually fun and structured as far as the strength goes, but not ridiculous like Outlaw. I love Outlaw but I am afraid Im not to that level yet. My shoulders and wrist get trashed from the volume. I think it has def helped me get stronger! I just need to get stronger for the next 3-4 months. Hope to set some goals this fall and get ready for sectionals....AGAIN. hahaha Time goes so fast! Cant believe the games are next weekend! Cant wait to watch all of the amazing athletes in the world kill it! The WODs they have announced so far have been a little strange but you never know until you watch or do it.

I have to give congrats to my boyfriend! He just got a new job AND he started training at the gym last week! So happy for him and he will be a great trainer! AND miss stacie chang got her first muscle up today! I was so impressed! It was basically a STRICT muscle up! and she did it three times! what a bad ass :)

Summer 2012 begins!

Alright people. IT has been a long time since I last posted. This is me. Just now kind of catching up on life. (not really! haha) I thought yay summer is here, I'll have loads of time to blog away about crossfit, running yoga. And its July and I haven't posted a single thing!

Crossfit has been good-ish. SInce regionals I've kind of just been doing main site workouts and not much strength or skills. Now that I've taken a month to eat crappy and not train until my arms want to fall off I think it's time to get serious. Im so excited to train for next year. Regionals this year was unlike any other experience. Last year (2011) I was just scared/nervous/scared to compete and wasn't even sure I could do most of what I needed to. This year I felt way more prepared. I did muscle ups, snatched 105lb (not very much but a big deal to me!), hang power cleaned 135lbs 15 times, and did a shit load of squats and pull-ups, oh and carried dear Lindsay and a 70lb dumbbell 100 feet :) and it was the funnest thing I have ever done. There was blood(lindsays), tears (my own), and rock tape. Seriously in the middle of the first workout which was a chaser, Row 1000 meters, 25 pistols(one legged squats, alternating), and 15 hang cleans at 135lbs, I literally stopped to think, "This is so fun!" and it kept me in high spirits for the entire weekend! We ended up getting 10th place out of 28 teams that were there! It was an awesome experience, we had the greatest group of teammates and supporters! Between the team, Sun, and Sam, and the supporters we had 21 people there from Boise!

So whats been going on besides me eating a shitload of carbs and ice-cream this summer! Serious binge after regionals. But now Im back on track. No cheats for me for a while. It is not hard to eat strict paleo. I either have to do it strict or not at all. There is no middle ground for me :( I do not have much self-control. It is sad, but true. So the girls from the gym and I are running the Sea Wheeze Lululemon half- marathon in Vancouver in August! It is a little over a month a way! Can't wait. We did a 7 mile training run on Sunday. It was so fun. It was Jami M.'s, Stacie's, and Katie's first time running that far! They did awesome. Im so proud! We ran on the greenbelt all the way to Veteran's Park drive from downtown.

Besides that Im just trying to learn how to use my camera, make gourmet cupcakes, and become a pharmacy tech. It has been a great summer even though I have worked 45ish hours a week!  Last week I went paddle boarding for the first time and loved it! The only downfall was the wind! It was blowing like a million miles an hour and there was white caps on the lake. Of course I was the first to fall in. I think next time I will go on a more calm day.

As far as in the crossfit gym, I haven't had any significant pr's. I had a ten pound pr on clean and jerk. 145lbs! :) and front squatted 145lbs 5 times yesterday. I have set goals for clean and jerk, snatch, back squat, dead lift, and shoulder press. I hope to reach them by September! :) I did do Amanda this summer. Which is a benchmark workout 21-15-9 muscle ups, and squat snatch at 95lbs. Although I did the squat snatches at 80lbs I did all of the muslce ups! It took me over 35 minutes and I wanted to cry. It was a good feeling to finish though and I'm excited to do it rxd someday.

Regional Tidbits

Wow! Training has been nuts. Between my 6 classes this semster and spending 2-4 hours at the gym 5 days a week Im starting to feel the crazy impact olympic lifting has on my body. I definitley couldnt keep up this kind of training year round. Im very excited for regionals though. The wods are crazy and I think Im going to have to get a little crazy to do them but I cant wait! I love pushing myself to accomplish new challenges. My team is great too! Everyone- Bobby, Brad, Jay, AM, and Linds have all been working their tails off and working on the movements. Linds and I did the 4th wod(all of the squats) and we have to trade spots 21 times! Holy cow thats a lot of transitions. Rudy has had some great ideas for transitions and strategies though. Casey has been great as well! He has been working with everyone on the movements and has some great input about form, technique, and transitions.

 Today me and the girls practiced the 6th wod. Needless to say it was a bitch. They were smart litttle cookies putting those 2 muscle ups at the end. That shit is hard. haha everything else felt great though! The partner carry is my favorite I think. Wall balls werent bad, even the chin hold wasn't tooo terrible! Surprise surprise! We did tabata style muscle ups. I got one each round for 4 rounds. Couldnt get one afterwards, my arms were shot. Like I said, smaaarrrrt cookies. Cooking up these evil workouts. I feel like when I am getting them Im catching them a lot higher then normal. Someday a muscle up will be no big deal. Until that day Im probably going to continue looking somewhat like a train wreck :)


 I managed to get 15 Hang cleans at 135 this week. SO I know it is possible BUT I need to do them faster. Im going to make myself do 2 at a time everytime I do them now. The bottom line is those SOB's arent going to get any lighter so Im just going to have to remember to have some good form and pick up the bar. Thats the hardest part of crossfit, whether you're grabbing the barbell or getting back on the pullup bar. Its mental! Just pick it up Jamie!!!! (thats what I need you peeps in the stands shouting during this WOD :) Im so incredibly nervous and watching the updates every weekend makes me more nervous but it also gets me super pumped up!!!! Cant wait! 3 more weeks.

Today our favorite blogger from paleOMG.com- Juli Bauer- is going! Cant wait to watch her tear it up! Also there are quite a few awesome guys going. I love watching really competitive regions! There are some incredible athletes in the CrossFit world that keep me going.

Ive been pretty good with paleo. The summer salad is back! :) boom. Its my favorite- Romaine lettuce, avocados, kalamata olives, tomatoes, balsamic and oil, garlic powder, garlic salt, and pepper- BEST SALAD ever. Credit goes to Linda, Bobby's mom, who is an amazing little cook. She has been making some great paleo dishes the last couple of months for Sunday dinners. My favorite by far has been the Mousse she made! Yes Chocolate Mousse that was paleo. I dont care if people think paleo desserts are dumb, sometimes they get me through!

After regionals Im going to just eat clean- mostly paleo because I dont think my body would like grains again or sugar sadly :( but Im not going to be a crazy nazi! I think Im going to have to take a goood long break from CrossFit- maybe 2-3 weeks. Ive been going to a chiropractor because my back has been out, one leg has been longer then the other because my hips are off, and my ribs are all out of place on my sternum and my spine. Weird. Makes for a really uncomfortable position when doing snatches and sleeping at night :/ So Im going to take a break after all of this. I had a massage on wed and it was great but I was feeling pretty exhausted and shitty the next day. Increase the volume and you have to increase the recovery therapy!

Sam and I thought it would be a swell idea to go chill in the Boise River like it was an ice bath. Holy hell was it cold. It was 60 degrees outside and windy. It felt like it was 90 degrees outside after being in that water. Ive never had my elbows hurt so bad! We lasted like a total of 180 seconds-ish! But I did feel better the next day.

Cant wait to get back to being a regular crossfitter! haha and Im also excited to be done with school and have more time to actually train and not be going in twelve thousand directions! :)

Pain threshhold training

Yesterday in the gym. I did Outlaw with the boys (Bobby, Sun, Jon Oh, Rory) and when Rudy posted it he referred it to "pain threshhold" training. Oh boy.

Snatches 3x1 80 %- 80lbs
Clean and Jerks 3x1 80%- 110lbs

I love the squat clean part of this even though my ass almost touches the ground and dont like the jerk so much. Im getting quicker then I use to be but not supppper quick yet. Ben has helped me a ton with jerks and hopefully tomorrow when we meet we can fix these slow feet.

Snatch pulls at 90 lbs 3x2

Next was the "pain threshhold" portion

With a 10 lb vest
5rounds:
250 M row
10 squat clean thrusters at 65lbs
15 burpees

Rest 3 minutes in between each round

The vest made this workout very uncomfortable. It actually came undone and was dangling from my body during the first row. Then after I got it done up it was creeping up and cutting my air supply off, then it was in the way on the squat cleans, and felt awesome on the burpees when I was laying on top of the little 2.2 lb bricks strapped into the front. All in all though I really like this WOD. Wow Rudy, thats two in a row! haha I think I like the long varied met cons because I feel like Im getting a lot done. I felt great on the rowing too. Before it I said to the boys, Im going to row slow, mkay?? and Bobby looked at me and said, its suppose to be a sprint! So I was like, welll shit. Fine. and it turned out not so bad with my fastest being a 1:43 pace and my slowest being a 1:49 pace. 

Afterwards I was suppose to do bench press annnnd reverse hypers but I was pooped. So I worked on some butterfly pullups! They felt great! My fear of knocking out my teeth is lessening and the ryhthm is getting better. Now I have decided Im just going to do butterflys in each WOD from here on out. Bring on the pullups. In case you're wondering what Im talkign about.... Here is a video of Camille le blanc-bazinet doing the last sectionals workout this year (she got first in the world) These are the butterfly pullups that I strive to acheive someday! Click below!

Camille's Crazy Ass Pullups

Oh Miss paleOMG.....

So Juli B. posted some pretty epic things. This is one of them, I cannot wait to try ASAP.

Chocolate Coffee Caramel Bars

 

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• For the crust
• 12 dried figs (or dates, if you prefer), stems removed
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup Unsweetended Shredded Coconut
• 2 tablespoons Raw Honey
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• For the caramel
• 12-14 medjool dates, pitted and soaked in water for an hour
• 5-6 tablespoons canned coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• For the topping
• 1 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips or dark chocolate, melted
• 1/4 canned coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons ground coffee
• coarse sea salt, to top

Instructions

1. First make your crust. Add all of your crust ingredients into a food processor and mix until well combined. Add the crust mixture to a bread pan and push down until the mixture is flat. Like a crust. Duh.
2. Now add your dates and pulse until dates have broken down (less than a minute) then add your coconut milk tablespoon by tablespoon to the dates while the food processor is still running. Then add your water as well.
3. And add your vanilla extract and pinch of salt.
4. Process until you get a caramel. BOOM. May take 3-5 minutes, tops.
5. Pour caramel over your crust and spread evenly.
6. Now you will want to melt your chocolate. You could do this in a double boiler or just the microwave. I chose the latter.
7. Melt chocolate and coconut milk together in the microwave. Heating for 30 seconds then mixing well and reheating when necessary.
8. Once your chocolate is completely melted, add your ground coffee and mix well.
9. Pour melted chocolate over your caramel and spread evenly.
10. Add coarse sea salt on top of the chocolate.
11. Put in freezer to let chocolate harden. Around 10+ minutes.
12. Eat!!

This can be found on her wonderful blog- paleomg.com

Outlaw and Benjamin

Today I got to work with Ben! He is a great coach and Im so thankful he started helping me with my lifts. I seriously couldnt even do a snatch before February. I could, but it wasn't pretty. He gave me the stink eye because I didn't have my lifting shoes with me. I realllly need to start writing down some of the shit he says, because its pretty epic and hilarious. I have a history of NOT staying on my heels, then the bars gets out in front of me. We worked on clean and jerks and some clean pulls (all from Outlaw's prgramming today)

Then afterwards we did "Elizabeth"

Elizabeth is a CrossFit benchmark workout that consists of:
21-15-9
squat cleans
ring dips

my time was 20:25

not the quickest, but those ring dips are one of my PWYSA demons :) Glad I did them all.

Then rest 2 minutes

Thennnn....

12 rope climbs
50 GHD situps
Row 1000 M ( thats two 500's AKA a 1k)

The whole thing took me about 40 minutes. I actually felt really great on this wod today. It was tough but I liked it! A+ Rudy ;)

So today I met with my advisor for school and Im REALLY graduating next semester! Im so stoked. I have been in school for an ungodly amount of time and cannot wait to be done :) I will have  a degree in Health Science with an emphasis in general health and a minor in psychology. Now what to do with this pretty little degree is the next question and I will be exploring my options this summer! Very excited for the next chapter of my life. Going into it with Bobby makes it even better. I gotta give the man some serious kuddos for putting up with me and my weirdness, and when I leave all the cupboards open in the kitchen, my lack of speediness in the grocery store, and much much more. He is incredibly supportive and helpful in my paleo and CrossFit adventures! I am one lucky girl :)

Only 8 more days until we discover the workouts for Regionals! 

Please forgive my blogging skills.....

So I know its been a while! This summer I pinky swear I will be a diligent little blogger. Not that it matters! hahaha I just feel like consistency is a must when you have a blog. It's like keeping a journal plus I love doing. Which is probably a bad sign because I should be studying for my Personality Psychology exam right now, not writing about Rudy's mean WODS and paleo fun. BUT I've been sitting here doing homework for the past 3 hours and I need a friggin break from Osmolarity and Social cognitive learning theories!

So this last week has been great! I did Outlaw on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday.

6AM (bad idea) I did 3 rounds of Barbara! It actually wasn't that bad. I just cant go straight into Oly lifting at 7am so I thought this would be a good way to warm myself up. Little did I know that at 6AM the pullup bars are cold as shit and my hands were going to be mad me for the rest of the week.

Monday for Outlaw we did tons of snatches, snatch pulls, tempo high bar back squat (155 lbs), Strict pullups, Bench press, ring handstand push ups (assisted, of course), and L-sit holds for 4 minutes (not 4 minutes straight, that would be stupid)

Tuesday we did more snatches(surprise, surprise) both power and full squat. at 60%-70%-80%-90% I felt ok on these this day and was happy I got 90 lbs a couple of times this day. We worked on clean and jerks at 80lbs, 95lbs, and 110 lbs (power clean/push jerk)

 

Afterwards the conditioning was fairly hellish, knew this was going to occur because there was no conditioning on Monday. I ran 5 miles with Jeanette at noon. Then after lifting/strength did this adorable WOD ( yes, adorable)

Sam titled it "Outlaw Bitches"

30- 26" box jumps
20 deadlifts at 205lbs
30 toes to bar
20 DB push press 35lbs
30 GHD
20 calorie row
30 alternating pistols with a 12 lb dumbbell (AKA Jamie looks like a cerebral palsy train wreck)

20 burpee box jumps (onto that lovely 26" box jump)

Normal box jumps for girls is generally 20", so 26" felt significantly frightening for someone with as much coordination as me. We had a 45lb plate stacked on top of a guys 24" box. These suckers got hard towards the end of the burpee box jumps, especially since both butt cheeks were locked up after doing all those pistols. Pistols are honestly the most awkward movement known to man kind. Well almost :)

It's finally Wednesday bitches. Much needed thursday rest day is looking mighty grand.

did some full squat clean and jerks 80-90-110lbs. some clean pulls whihc make my thumbs feel like they are going to explode from doing hook grip, 1 1/4 front squats (no this is not like platform 9 3/4, my god I wish, if you dont understand this sentence then we cannot be friends anymore) These are tricky little suckers. You go down all the way in a front squat, then come back up 1/4 of the way then go  back down. I did them at 135lbs. This is some awesome shit Rudy,and no I would never be sarcastic ;)

I skipped conditioning today because I was being a total baby, but hey it happens. You'd think after how long Ive been doing CrossFit that I would be able to handle having sore hands after

Thursday-REST DAY

Friday- This day was the best. Anne Marie and I did some snatches and cleans of the box which felt awesome. I had never done them off the box before and I feel like they eliminate a lot of my bad habits. Then we did this workout that for the first time, there was not tears, but laughter. Not the kind of laughter that rings throughout the room and bring joy to every girl and boy, but the mad hatter/hare kind. There were HSPU on plates, heavy overhead squats, and prowler pushes. The HSPU were seriously the kicker in this one. I have never failed so many reps in my life. I am really happy I made it through. I feel like I could have been really pissed and disappointed but I wasn't and I feel like this is where you have to learn to not push, but kick that little voice in your head right in the picachu and tell yourself you can do it! CrossFit has given me the greatest sense of accomlishment over the last few years. Sometimes I still feel like Im going nowhere or I still have so much to get better at but that itself is half the fun! Not going to get bored anytime soon with this sport! Even though my arms were dangling at my sides uselessly after this WOD and I NEVER want to do another HSPU in my life, I have to give myself a F*ck yeah! for finishing. Anne Marie and I both were encouraging one another and we made it through. Happy I have such amazing team mates!

These last few weeks have been absolutley insane with Outlaw. I like Rudy's prgramming. Its scary as shit and forces my to do heavy barbell work everyday (my least favorite). It makes me wanna cry. And it gives me a swift kick in the ass, every day. And yet Im still curious about what he'll post the next day and what challenges I will meet (theyre always there)....

Sunday I ran 10 miles with Sam, Lindsay, and Stac! (Oh and Red and Mal as well) Robie is less then two weeks away!

Today (monday the 9th) Linds and I did some Outlaw snatches and clean and jerks. Tempo back squats. Then strict pullups and thruster.Linds helped me a lot with the strict pullups. She is an incredible athlete! She has been going to our gym since November and didn't do much CrossFit before that. She is competing on the team this year with our gym and I am so impressed with her strength! Cant wait to see what she will do at regionals! :)

Paleo was okish this week. Easter Sunday was kind of a blowout (lasagna, rolls, banana pie, brownies) and so was Sautrday night. Paleo Boise Fry Co with some not so paleo Aspen leaf frozen yogurt, Made it half way through my icecream until I got sick and Bobby confiscated it. He didnt actually physically take it away but he gave me that disapproving look  he gives whenever I fall off the paleo wagon. Glad he stopped me because I have felt like shit ever since. Eating paleo makes me feel awesome, except when I cheat. I always think why cant I just eat normal! so I dont feel shitty eating shitty foods. But maybe its all the "normal" eaters out there that should come to the dark side and feel awesome. Today marks the end of our 12 weeks of paleo, boy did that sneak up on me! Yay for 12 weeks, now when to quit paleo, eat pizza everyday and drink Caramel macchiatos again???? :) I think I would bein heaven for one meal and DIE afterwards. So for now Im still doing paleo. Maybe not forever but I certainly dont know how I can ever switch back to grains and sugar again :/

Dear Diane, you suck!

So This week I started back doing Outlaw wods. Not full time, that would be horrible :) I explained that lovely wod from Monday already. Yesterday I did the main site WOD- Overhead squats and Diane.

The Overhead Squats went well and I was happy with my 3 rep max.

95-105-110-120-130

My previous 1 rep max was 120 so I was stoked to get 130 X3! I love PR's!

"Diane" was a different story.
My time was 11 something.
I learned very quickly that I desperatley need to work on hand stand push ups. I know, I know its cool that I can even do them but its frustrating when I can't do very many. My weeenie little upper body strength needs to quit being a pansy! Im going to work on them with the plates from here on out after the wods when Im tired. I think its that extra two inches doing them off the plates that make me do angry things- like have minature tantrums in the middle of a workout. My PWYSA list is getting mighty hefty. Which is great that I am organizing these little demon movements and killing them off slowly one by one. die demon movements, die. Seriously what Anne Marie said on Monday made me think. It does make me HUNGRIER to accomplish my goals and master my weaknesses because honestly it really pisses me off that I can feel so defeated by something that is my own fault. The time has come to buck up sugar cup! :)

Jami M. made me some her AMAZING magical granola. Seriously no joke this shit is legit. It taste like cinnamon toast crunch and makes me smile when I eat it. She is getting mighty good at this paleo business and I think she should be a professional paleo chef/magical granola maker :)

Today I did Outlaw again and it was fun!

We did Clean and jerks at 75-85%. I went light so I could work on form.
95-95-95-105-110 (sets of 2)

Clean high pulls at 150 (4x3)

And 1 1/4 front squats. yep these were double dippers. did them at 125.

Conditioning:
100 double unders unbroken (I made it to 81 ub)
30 burpees
15 GHD situps
75 ub du
30 burpees
15 GHD
50 ub du
30 burpees (these got old fast)
15 GHD

time 12:47

This was fun and like I was telling Sam earlier I feel like my cardiovascular system gets raped everytime I do the conditioning portion of Outlaw, thanks Rudy. And thanks Brad for making me think about rape everytime I workout. hahaha I know, I know. Not funny, not funny. Last year he came up with a really great acronym for CrossFit: Really Aggressive People Excercising. Rape. Yes, really.

Rudy is going to be programming team wods soon on Outlaw! So excited about this and to do them with the team! I love team wods, mostly. Hahah Well I love my team and doing workouts with them, I dont always love the movements :)

Catch up!

Its been a lonnng time since I posted, well like two weeks. Here's a tiny little catch up story for you then Ill try and stay on top of it from here on out! So 12.5 came and went! It was the same wod they had last year to end sectionals with! (how original CF headquarters)

7 minutes

3-6-9-12-15 etc.....

thrusters at 65lbs

chest to bar pullups

I was pretty excted because I am alot better at pullups this year than last year but found out quickly not by much :(

I had never even done a C2B pullup last year before this workout. Last year I got 77 reps and this year I got 83. Even though I improved I was still pretty bummed about my score. I did the workout by myself and Jami M and Misti counted for me on Saturday morning. The chest to bar pullups were challenging for me and Im adding them AND butterfly kipping pullups to my PWYSA list. After watching Camille Leblanc Bazinet totally kill this workout I decided that its ridiculous to be a crossfitter and not know how to butterfly kip well! I cant be too bummed though. I did well on the majority of the workouts and its a huge improvement from last year. I feel stronger and understand more about the importance of nutrition and a properly formatted program.

One major downside to the open is training gets a little weird for me. Between work, school,and making sure Im rested enough for the competition wods then doing them twice a week I think I lose a little strength over the five week course. I was definitley burnt out by the time 12.5 rolled around and Im happy to be getting back on track! 

I did an Outlaw wod this morning with Anne Marie and Sam. It was brutal. Snatches at 75lbs, Snatch pulls at 115 lbs, and tempo back squats at 160lb. Then a lovely wod involving the barbell complex( 5 deadlifts, 5 hang power cleans, 5 push jerks at 95lbs) and rowing in between each. For some reason I just fell apart in the middle of this wod and was so frustrated that I was almost in tears. I think I just need to remember to keep some things in perspective. I was bummed this weekend about the open workout and I think going in and doing a really hard Outlaw wod on top of it was a bad idea. Sometimes I think you just need a mental break from CrossFit. I mean after doing so many competition wods (10 weeks in a row if you add the throwdown workouts plus the open workouts), ya get tired of being intense. haha yes me! I said it! :) I go 90 mph in school, work, and crossfit so its nice every once in a while to take a little breather. Plus I think mentally I can really f%*! myself over if I dont reevaluate, step back and put things into perspective. 

Im super excited for regionals and for the training ahead as well :) 

In the kitchen today I made the Honey Giner Apple pork roast from Juli's blog again and finnnnnalllllly made the CARAMEL PECAN BARS! They are cooling on my counter right now and Im SO STOKED to try them later. They made my whole house smell delicious! I also made the most wonderful looking Cauliflower mashed potatos! I steamed them for about 20 minutes and then threw them into the food processor with some garlic salt and some pepper and boom! perfect cauliflower potatos! yay! Ive been a little obsessed with sweet potatos as well lately. I have been throwing them in the microwave in the morning for ten minutes while I whip up breakfast then taking them to lunch with me. They are good with just a little pepper over top! And really filling! I dont eat a ton of veggies so Im going to see how many of my fruits I can replace with vegetables! So far I am adding broccoli to my eggs instead of having berries with my breakfast, eating greek yogurt with cinnamon and honey instead of berries, and having almond butter with celery instead of apple. I think its easy so far but Im not going to go crazy nazi with it and say IM NEVER eating fruit. Im just eating less, as a way to control myself a little. Im a little nuts about apples, bananas, dried pineapple, and berries :) 

Bobby took some pics with some of the Refinery peeps last weekend. What a hottie :) 

Sweet potato cakes with Cranberry for breakfast

Prep time: 40 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 3+

Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons fresh or dried parsley
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thin
• 2-3 egg whites, beaten
• 6 eggs (or more if needed)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoon oil (olive, coconut, bacon fat, etc)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees to get your sweet potatoes baked.
2. Use a fork to poke holes all around each one of your sweet potatoes.
3. Throw the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, throw in the oven, and bake for 25-35 minutes or until soft to the touch. (the time will range depending on the size of the sweet potatoes)
4. In a large bowl, add your sweet potatoes and use a fork or masher to mash the sweet potatoes until smooth. Add your dried cranberries, parsley, onion, and salt and pepper.
5. Mix thoroughly then taste to see if you want to add any more spices.
6. Now add 2 egg whites that were beaten to your sweet potatoes and mix well. I say 2-3 on the ingredients because you may need 3 if your sweet potatoes are large. To figure out what how many you need, try to use your hands to clump up a patty, if it sticks to your hands completely, you need an extra egg white.
7. Now make 6 or more patties from your sweet potato mixture.
8. Heat up a large skillet under medium heat with 2 tablespoons of oil in it, then add your patties. Cook on each side for 3-5 minutes or until they have a nice outside crisp to them.
9. Now grease a 8×8 glass baking dish or whatever works for you then add your cooked patties to baking dish.
10. Use a spoon to push down in the middle of each patty just enough that when you crack an egg on top, it will stay on your patty.
11. Crack eggs directly on top of sweet potato cakes.
12. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until yolk is cooked to preference.
13. While the eggs are baking, add your sliced onions directly to your hot greased skillet and let those caramelize in the meantime. My caramelization means burnt, but cook onions to what you love.
14. Top caramelized onions on top of baked eggs on sweet potato cakes. Then top everything off with a little bit of hotness. Bomb dig.

I know its boring to read through an entire recipe on someone's blog but I don't think that many people read my blog for starters annnnd when Im being cool at school and reading through food blogs instead of doing homework I like to remember what I looked at so I just post it here. annnnnd i like to post it just in case there is the chance that someone is reading and wants to try it. PS you have to go to Juli's blog and read the little paragraph before this recipe. hilarious. 

Speaking of paleo treats.... this just in!

Juli Bauer author of the PaleOMG blog just posted some great looking "caramel" pecan bars that are paleo! Here is a link to her blog. Ill be making these asap!

Caramel Pecan Bars

Random foood tangent

So back in the day (like last fall) I started doing paleo and would bitch and complain and whine so much about how ridiculous it was. I felt bad for poor Bobby because I was never happy that I was doing paleo and he does paleo like 24/7. now that I did the 30 days challenge with my girlfriends with no cheats and have continued to do strict paleo with pretty much no cheats its easy as pie! This week was my birthday (yes yes Im going to mention it just one more time, haha HEY its my blog) and I had all sorts of naughty treats- a cupcake (obviously), Bitter creeks AMAZING powdered sugar covered donuts that have a fancy name in another language that start with a B but I cant remember exactly how to spell it (did I mention they were dipped in caramel), and some delicious lemoney strawberry shortcake goodness as well.....all in one day. whew. I would say that the head ache it totally worth it but would be lying. I think that it was all delicious but Im getting to the point where I do CrossFit so much and am feeling stronger that its hard for me to potentially sabotage that over one tiny cute cupcake (or a bowl of M&M's at the Risch's house- I only had a handful!) I just feel so crummy after I eat the sugar. I had a sugar free Vanilla latte today from Starbucks and that sh*t will mess you up once you start doing paleo. I took two sips and dumped it in the trash. Not only is it a waste of my precious poor college student pennies but it taste like shit AND its loaded with artificial junk that makes you feel like shit. So here's my plan. No cheats for real because its not worth it and Im going to stick with my amazing Tully's brand French roast coffee from home that my Keurig does a fantastic job whipping up. If I want a treat Ill make a paleo treat!  Reality is sad- who would have ever thought the day would come when cupcakes/Starbucks were not my choice snack but instead I'd rather eat a slab of meat and vegetables (or some bacon and eggs!) Food is FUEL. End of story. We have made it taste oh so good but  a lot of that pretty, sugary crap isn't doing much to improve our physiques or energy levels!

Im really happy that I got into this whole paleo business and thank god for BACON.

12.4

Annnnnd the comments are boiling up but Im suppressing them well....

12.4 is:

12 min amrap
150 wallballs-reallly???
90 double unders
30 muscle ups

Cant wait to see how my ass and arms feel after this one tomorrow! 

Wednesday is the day of waiting in the CF world

SO today its wednesday. again. just waiting for them to release 12.4!! Ok Im doing stats homework, have an exam in two hours then I have to work at Costco tonight, so Im not reallllly just waiting around but I am stoked to hear whats a happening next. Last week was CRAZY. I did the wod and got 9 rounds plus 1 box jump as you can recall. The box jump was mine and miss m's superhero/action movie moment. I re-did the wod on Sunday with my Lindsay Vaughn. And OMG.

I have NEVER felt that exhausted after a WOD. EVER. The first time I did it I rested a lot more I guess. This time was pretty minimal rest. It was so great to do it with Lyndsay! We were in this vicious cycle where she would beat me (kick my ass!) at the toes to bar then Id pass her on the push press. And it went on like this for 18 minutes. I think everyone needs to find the one person in the gym that can kick their ass and workout with them in these open wods. It is the best way to get better, and to improve your score. We got 10 rounds plus 15 box jumps plus 12 push press plus 1 t2b (yes we tied )

I dont know if its the "lets be positive!" motto Ive been following or what but I am feeling really great mentally. I swear it makes a world of difference to believe in yourself. Yes being strong physically and skilled (not necessarily coordinated or Id be F*cked) is important too but also being mentally there with yourself in the wod, and having faith in your ability to do good, and believing in yourself, I have learned are very important as well.

Misti was unable to come to the gym (she is my coach/cheerleader/drill sargent) and if you have ever been doing a wod and she is there pushing you, you know EXACTLY what Im talking about. So I told all of the girls you have to push me, yell at me, encourage me. Just DONT LET ME STOP. and they didn't :) All of them were there, SO SUPPORTIVE! :) Love my girls. Everyone kicked ass at this workout!!! :)

So message of the day: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. Just once. try it out. I promise you won't be let down.

Monday I did DT which is 12 deadlifts, 9 hang power cleans, and 6 push jerks
and whoa baby that was a joke. Did it at 95 lbs and I failed on a couple of the hang cleans. My arms were SHOT from Sunday. Me and Sam went and ran 4 200m sprints 30-36 sec. was suppose to be 8 of them but we both just looked at each other and laughed. I was so sore and tired! Rest days Tues/Wed were necesary!

Two recipes Bobby and I made this week from paleOMG (she is a genius and hilarious):

 paleOMG Blog- by Juli Bauer

Roasted Grape and Onion Pork Chops

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 pork chops
• 2 cups red, seedless grapes
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil – 1 tablespoon melted
• 1 tablespoon crushed rosemary
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat you oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place your grapes and sliced onions on a baking sheet, drizzle 1 tablespoon of melted coconut oil over the top and mix to coat the onions and grapes.
3. Bake for 15-20 minutes of until the grapes burst. Be careful to not burn them. I did. Fail.
4. When your grapes are almost done cooking, heat up a large skillet over medium heat and add your remaining tablespoon of coconut oil.
5. Season both sides of your pork chops with salt, pepper, and rosemary.
6. When pan is hot, add your pork chops and cook on both sides for 5-8 minutes (depending on the thickness of your pork chops) or until completely cooked through.
7. There should be no pink inside your pork chop.
8. When grapes are done roasting, remove from oven and let cool for a couple minutes.
9. Top your pork chops off with grapes and onions then SERVE!
10. Delish!

This was SERIOUSLY the bomb. And really easy to make!!!! :)

And the other was:

Honey Ginger Apple Shredded Pork

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 8 hours

Total time: 8 hours 5 mins

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 2lb pork shoulder roast (or any other roast you prefer)
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 2 apples, cored and sliced
• 2/3 cup beef or chicken broth OR water
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger (use ground ginger if you don’t have fresh on hand)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 1 bay leaf

Instructions

1. Pull out your crockpot.
2. Add your broth or water, then onions, then pork, then apples then all your spices/garlic clove/and bay leaf.
3. Cover.
4. Cook for 8-10 hours on low or 6-8 hours on high.
5. Use tongs or a fork to shred your pork.
6. Consume. Warning: food may be hot.

This not only tastes GREAT but it makes your whole house smell delish!
Be sure to go and check out the paleOMG blog too! She has loads of delicious recipes and her blog is seriously side-stich hilarious! Lots of stories and some good entertainment!

I also made some delicious Brownie bites (which looked more like sombreros by the end) and some paleo bars!

The brownie bites I just did the normal brownie recipe and added dark chocolate chunks, cinnamon, and walnuts! delish! and I squeezed a lemon in the paleo bars. They taste a teeny tiny bit lemoney and I may be imagining things. I wish I could figure out how to make them LEMONEEYYY. EXTRA lemoneyyy. I will try to food process the next lemons and put more then just the juice in em! Maybe that will do the trick! Got a really nasty burn from the cocnut oil covered toasted nuts when I was pouring them in the food processor though! It was kind of gross. Im not really the squeamish type though so enjoyed poppng the blister! :)

Also Yesterday was my Birthday and I had an AMAZING day. Spent all day with Jamie K (my bestie) and we went and bought some cupcakes, had lunch, and went to ceramica to paint. The cupcake looked kind of boring and I was kind of sad it wasn't pretty until I tried it- IT WAS LIKE A PARTY in my mouth! SO SO GOOD. Could be because there was a mountain of frosting on top and I haven't had that much sugar in forever but it was worth the headache afterwards :) Then I went to dinner with Bobby, Jami M, Linda, and Frank and got the most kick ass present ever! They had Heidi, who lives in NY, go to the LULULEMON store and get me a pair of the orange run speed shorts- which were online for like a day before they sold out. SO  cute! I was pretty spoiled this year and can't wait to wear all of my new CF goodies! :) 

Ok now I REALLY have to do my stats homework and study. Cant wait for 12.4! :)

12.3, birthdays, and cupcakes

                     So the third WOD was releasedthis wednesday

A) 18 min AMRAP- FML
B)15 box jumps, 12 push press at 75lbs, and 9 toes to bar

IT was BRUTAL. I got a side ache in the middle of it. Do you know how hard it is the engage your abdominal muscles on the outside when it feels like you have a rubberband pinching ya on the inside! The weight was fairly easy for me on this workout. It was just so mental. It is hard to make yourself pick up the bar, Once it is up its no big deal but getting there is another story. Im seriously so thankful so thankful for the wonderful ladies at the Refinery. Misti is the CHEER captain. (more like drill sargeant) She is the best. She is right there with you the entire time talking you through every rep. When you get to the point where you absolutley cannot make yourself pick up the bar she has the best way of making you know you can. Love her! Jami M., Stac, and Taryn were all there too. At the end of the workout I had 5 seconds left on the clock and had just done the last nine toes to bar, ripping my thumb and I sprinted over to the box frantically and the clipboard was on it. My brain was like "What do I do!? clipppboard!" and out of nowhere, faster than lightning, Jami M. comes flying over and sweeps the clipboard and pencil off the box right as I jumped up. It was like an action movie. We felt pretty cool. Jami M. is getting pretty good at moving at lightning speed latley :)

On Monday I did a chipper that was pretty tough. 25 handsand pushups, 50 toes to bar, run 800meters, 75 pushpress (45lbs), and 150 double unders! I was the LAST person to finish the HSPU. They have been a serious weakness of mine latley! Dont know what the deal is. I think Im not great at body movements because I weigh more then girls typically weigh at my height maybe. PWYSA everyday. Speaking of PWYSA forgot to do my extra homework (pistols, butterfly pullups, strict ring pullups) and now I get to do 100 wallballs this week. cant wait. Sam did help me with my pistols earlier this week though. Put my heels up on a small plate (5 pounder) and it helps so much. Sun told me too I also need to do them quicker.

Did a little run with Jeanette Yesterday morning. We were both whining and moaning and half way she looks down at her Garmin and we were under a 7 minute mile! No wonder we were hurting. We slowed it down to a 7:35 and average and 8:35 for the rest of the run. 2nd fastest we've ever ran the river loop- 39 minutes! 4.8-ish miles. Love my runs with Jeanette. We are planning a 5 mile hulls gulch, then a 7 mile hulls gulch next week and then two weeks doing the canyon (Robie) oh boy. I can feel the burn in my booty already! It is such a great feeling when you reach the top its just getting there and fighting that little voice in your head thats saying, "Girl you're crazy!"

So it is my favorite week! BIRTHDAY WEEK. My sister's birthday is the 10th, mine is the 13th, and my mom's is the 14th! We've had this tradition for the last couple of years of doing birthday weekend. We get together and do fun stuff and this year we have wild and rambunctious Maddie Mo to entertain us! I love my Birthday. Pretty much everyone in the world does, even if they won't admit it. It just brings back childhood memories of my mom making our birthday cake, hiding it in the cupboard, ane me pretending I didn't find it. Its like Christmas at our house. We usually would have spaghetti for a birthday dinner and my mom would always wake us up singing happy birthday, even when I was 17 years old. She is the best at making birthdays special and fun! :)

So its birthday week and I have been doing this strict paleoness for aprox 60ish days I think. Somewhere around there and I decided I am going to eat a damn cupcake :) I reallllly LOVE cupcakes! Seriously. I would eat one everyday or at least every Friday if I could. So its proabably a good thing that when I google paleo cupcakes.....they all look gross. A cupcakes made with coconut flour, almond meal, and organic something or another is just not the same.     (although Im sure Taryn could make it taste pretty darn good, she has magical paleo baking powers I swear!) I def judge a cupcakes by its iceing too and its hard to make a paleo cupcake pretty. So my solution to this problem, Im just going to eat a damn cupcake for my birthday :)

Wish the solution to talking my boyfriend into getting a kitten was this simple ;)

I cant believe IT IS paleo.....

PaleOMG is the best blog! New little treasure Jami M. just shared with me. And this amazing recipe came from there. Of course I didn't make it myself, Taryn who is a paleo baking genius made it at our little PALEO girls night on Saturday! AMAZZZZZING.

PALEO COFFE CAKE.......

Just FYI I did manage to snatch 100lbs, with perfect form, on Friday, twice! PR for me! I just cant get it with  every time when I land in a full squat snatch. Its like 1 in 6 times. But the UGLY powersnatch-press combo I can get more consistently, just not something Im ever going to let myself do again! Bad habits- Dont Practice them - KBH(kick bad habits!) ;)

I snatch, you snatch! We all snatch a whole lotttt

So.... this weekend was great. I worked like 7 hours at my real job being a grown up and spent probably the equivalent of that at the gym as well....working on snatches. My arms are toast and my biceps hurt which I think means my form was a little wonky. Today Ben would have been so proud of my "sheer aggression" and not so proud of my horrific snatch form when I re-did the WOD. All day I have been telling myself "godamnit, you're going to power snatch 100lbs today, or else." and I did. and it was U-G-L-Y. I redid the wod and did feel pretty tired after working with Ben yesterday at the "snatch clinic" and doing the wod Friday. Before the WOD today I power snatched 95lbs and by that I mean I pulled like a mofo and got the bar as high as I could then pressed it out until I got to the top. There was no keeping the knees back, being patient, waiting until I was fully extended to pull at the top and there was def no quick getting under the bar. SO. For the WOD. I did this on my first rep of 100lb as was like, "hmmm well that was interesting, lets see if I can pull out another grotesque looking snatch just like that. again." And I got 12 reps at 100lbs! This wod was so crazy and I feel like I definitley felt the term people often call beast mode arise inside and the not the Annie Thorsidottir beast mode when she is climbing a rope, or Camille Le Blanc Bazinet muscle up mode, but the "CrossFit is somtimes about intensity and you're going to do this movement slightly incorrectly but get it done" mode. REALLY happy my oly expert coach BENJAMIN was no there to see me snatching away with this crazy new movement I like to call the SNATCH PRESS. He would have probably not even known what to say BUT hey SHEER AGGRESSION was the pinnacle of my success today. And I think he'd give me an  A+ for that ;) Happy I didn't (excuse the language please) mind fuck myself today. I have a tendency to get way too worried about everything then not do well because I am so freaked out about how Im doing compared to everyone else blah blah blah. SHUT UP is what I have to tell myself! I can get really wrapped up in all the "drama", (not real drama but the battle between me being a pansy and wanting to do well that is going on inside my head etc) that I forget why I want to do CrossFit in the first place. This is probably the most mentally unstable thing I have EVER said (possibly) but: CrossFit is FUN. I love it. There has never been anything in my life that has pushed me to limits I never knew I could reach. And I LOVE everyone at the gym. Such a wonderful support group! I feel like everywhere there is such a great sense of community in the CrossFit world. Today Emily O. got 75lbs and she had that look on her face (for me, its the look that is trying to suppress bursting into tears because Im so stoked about what just happened) and I love it! I love to see others pushing themselves and accomplishing new PRs! Its great because you can relate to them so well. You know how awesome it feels to do something at the gym that you've never done before. I want EVERYONE  to feel this way. It makes ya feel pretttty badass sometimes.

So all of the girls decided to set goals and punishments for not doing them everyday. Kind of like little promises to hold us accountable for not PWWSA (practicing what we suck at, not as cool as PWYSA, but still I made it up so Im going to go with it) and I chose 100 wallballs as my punishment and already failed to remember to practice my laundry list of shizzz. FML. WBSARRB(wall balls suck ass really, really bad!) hahah ok getting a little silly in here.

One word....SNATCH

This has been quit the week! I had a long week with school and getting my WODS in. Monday I did a RUDY WOD from Outlaw.

We did a sets of 3 of clean deadlifts. I did mine at 135lb. Probably a little too light for this wow but the deadliest portion of a clean done alone is slightly awkward especially when nobody knows that is what you're doing and gives you some precarious looks. Jake helped me out a little bit with my setup and I think it helped a lot. Then we did hang power cleans from the knee. I did it at 95lb. It was pretty good and I feel like Im getting quicker! Sort of. My elbows arm faster but I donkey kick a little still. After we did a WOD that was 4 rounds of 40 double unders, 12 thrusters, and 12 C2B pull-ups. Rest 3 minutes in between each round. I HATE pull-ups and thrusters together. The bar hitting you in the chest every time gives ya no air for everything else. Bobby was having an off day on his double unders. The second round he was doing them and out of my peripheral vision all I see is two handles fly out of his hands and of course, Im a jerk, I start laughing and messed up too. Oopsie :)

Tuesday I worked out with Ben for an hour. We did some good old fashioned snatch. I got 95lbs finally solid! I was so stoked! It is really crazy when I actually have patience, set up correctly, get my knees back, and let myself open up all the way. When the snatches get heavy I have a tendency to go into chicken mode, which means I cop out. But With Ben there its impossible to be a chicken. Yesterday after I failed 3 times Ben said, "You need to be aggressive! I figured out that everything can be solved with sheer aggression." ah Ben, that's why I love you! and it helped....I almost got 95 on the next try. I did get it again. Its really crazy when you get a snatch because its almost effortless when you're in the right position.

Wednesday was my resssst day.

Thursday I spent 90 minutes in hellish hot yoga. It actually wasn't that bad this time but still......
and then funny story. I was making the bed (while standing on it) as I was putting the sheet down it caught the edge of the bed and I yanked it and whoops both my hands slipped off the sheet and I went gracefully flying backwards into the wall and just kept on falling right onto the ledge of the window seal. It felt awesome on the back of my ribcage, especially because it knocked the wind out of me. Bobby managed to miss the whole fiasco. Im SUPPPPER coordinated if ya couldn't tell :) No bruise though, just a little red mark.

FRIDAY! So the open WOD 12.2 was released on Wednesday night and here it is....
10 min AMRAP
30 snatches at 45 lbs
30 snatches at 75lbs
30 snatches at 100lbs
and however many you can put in at 120 lb (yeah right!)

This was an interesting WOD for me. Before the WOD today I snatched 100lbs! YAH PR!! In the WOD I felt great doing it at 45 and 75. I got 100 lb one time! I failed 6 or 7 times though. I was really happy with that though since I just PRed TODAY. Going to the SNATCH clinic tomorrow (haha) Ben is doing at the gym.

Tonight I went to the grocery store to get some ICECREAM....paleo ice-cream. I was verrry tempted to get some non-paleo ice-cream but Bobby keeps me in line! I got the Coconut Bliss dark decadence and it was so good AND paleo! :)

Somedays I feel like a crazy crack head. I see someone on campus eating some pizza and I want to tackle them, take it away, and EAT IT! Yesterday I caught myself thinking about eating a grilled cheese sandwhich and I had to STOP myself. Thats the worse thing you can do when you're trying to eat healthy. We went to Boise Fry Company tonight and its the best place for paleo naughtiness. I had a bison burger (minus the bun) with sweet potato fries and blueberry ketchup (not entirely sure that last part is paleo but Im going to ignore that little part :)

WELLL this has been a super boring post I know but maybe I will have some more SNATCH stories for you next time and less falling off the bed stories ;)